Les Bowen

STAFF WRITER

Les Bowen has covered the Eagles since 2002. Before that, he covered the Flyers for 13 years. He came to the Daily News from the Charlotte Observer in May 1983, just as the Sixers were winning the NBA championship. He thought, "Gosh, this sort of thing must happen all the time here."

Last week at minicamp, Jason Peters told reporters he hadn't lost any mobility, and there's a sheriff's deputy in Louisiana right now who probably agrees.

News reports indicate Peters, 31, was arrested early Wednesday morning after drag racing and resisting an officer by flight, in Monroe, La.

The Monroe News-Star reported that a deputy watched a white Camaro and a blue sedan take off from a traffic light at 4:45 a.m., apparently racing. (This would seem to be a clear violation of new coach Chip Kelly's request that players get 10 hours of sleep a night, by the way.) The sedan pulled over when the deputy turned on his emergency lights, the Camaro took off, and the deputy pursued, ultimately topping 100 mph on Interstate 20, before the Camaro stopped in a shopping center parking lot.

"We are aware of the reports that Jason Peters was arrested this morning in Lousiana," an Eagles spokesman said. "We have been in contact with Jason and due to the legal nature of this matter, we will not have any further comment at this point."

It's unclear whether the arrest could affect Peters' availability to the Eagles this season; the early guess would be that it won't. The five-time pro Bowl left tackle missed last season after two Achilles' surgeries. He sat out two weeks of this spring's OTAs for what he said were personal reasons, but returned to the team for the mandatory minicamp.

Peters, who lives in Texas, is known as a car hobbyist. A Daily News story shortly after his arrival in a trade with the Bills listed at least six cars scattered about his yard in Queen City, Texas, many of them rebuilt by Peters.

"I don't ever buy a brand-new car off the lot," Peters said then. "I'll get them used - I usually get an older car, from the '60s or '70s - for a couple of grand and I'll fix them up. When I get them, they don't look like they look now."

Peters' agent, Eugune Parker, did not respond to a request for comment.